TRENTON — Although the state Department of Children and Families has made commendable progress improving its child welfare system since 2006, it's too soon to relax any court-ordered mandates that focus on child safety and rehabilitating families, according to a report today by prominent family advocacy group.

The Advocates for Children of New Jersey issued the report in response to Children and Families Commissioner Allison Blake announcing she wants to revisit a handful of the 55 requirements tied to a settlement reached eight years ago with Children Rights, a national advocacy group whose lawsuit sought vast improvements to the long-struggling system.

Cecilia Zalkind, executive director for the state advocacy group, said some of the changes Blake seeks would relax standards that require the department work closely with troubled families whose children have been placed into foster homes.

“The state’s progress on many fronts is encouraging and should be commended,” Zalkind said. “Still, the core measures of case handling – those issues that directly impact child safety and family reunification – have been slow to change. It is critical that the state remain committed to meeting the goals of the settlement agreement. State officials should also engage in a public discussion of how we can work together to accomplish that.”

A department of Children and Families spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.

Blake questioned one goal, which requires caseworkers to hold “family-team meetings” with 90 percent of parents to discuss a foster child’s future. The state averaged a 54 percent compliance rate, according to Meltzer’s report.

This requirement, Blake argued, "does not allow for meetings and visits that fail to occur for reasons entirely beyond our control, including when parents are unavailable or missing or refuse to participate, or when meetings and visits are precluded for legal or safety reasons."

Blake also questioned the requirement that 98 percent of foster children must be visited every month at their foster home. The state would meet the requirement if location weren’t an issue, she said.

Blake delivered her comments July 17th before U.S. District Court Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark during a routine hearing on the latest report monitoring the state's progress overhauling the Division of Children Protection and Permanency. Blake changed the name of the agency known as the Division of Youth and Family Services, or DYFS, two years ago.

Two standards identified by Blake as needing an update are critical to reuniting families, and should be left intact, according to the advocacy group's report.

"While reviewing the standards may be appropriate, relaxing any requirements regarding case handling, such as holding “family team meetings” with parents whose children have been placed in foster care, could result in setbacks – and put more children in harm’s way," according to the report.

"In addition, some standards could be strengthened," according to the report. "For example, the settlement agreement only requires 60 percent of children in foster care to visit weekly with their parents and has no special requirements for younger children who, research shows, need more frequent visitation. Consistent, quality visitation is a key piece to safely reunifying families."

Zalkind's group identified 32 key measures aimed at protecting child safety and improving children’s chances of growing up in safe, permanent homes, and found the state only met the requirements in eight of them.

“We felt it was important to paint a more concise picture of the state’s progress in its handling of cases of child abuse and neglect and to identify longer-term trends,” Zalkind said. “We will use this information to inform policymakers, legislators and other advocates so they can become part of a meaningful discussion of how to achieve the paramount goal of ensuring all children are safe from harm.”